Camelback Mountain Christmas tree earns reprieve, will go back up

PHOENIX — Santa must be pleased. A group of hikers who annually set a decorated Christmas tree on Camelback Mountain will be allowed to replace one that Phoenix officials removed, citing safety concerns.

Max Dembow, of the Scottsdale Adventure Club, wrote in a Facebook post that 30 people hauled the 15-foot-tall tree up the mountain the day after Thanksgiving.

By the next day, it had been cut down and the top half was missing.

Park rangers said they only got rid of the tree’s bottom half because it was a safety hazard, considered littering and against regulations.

Dembow and Camelback Santa didn’t give up on the 15-year tradition, started by others and carried on for the past four years by the Scottsdale group.

Dembow created an online petition at Change.org and gathered over 1,300 supporters in four days.

Dembow said the new tree would be on the summit by Saturday.

Phoenix Parks and Recreation officials said Wednesday the hiking group will monitor the tree site daily all month along with park ranger staff.

In a nod to the recent understanding with city government, Dembow asked that visitors to the tree keep the area clean. Originally, the new tree was not to decorated, as requested by the city’s parks and recreation department, which oversees the mountain but Dembow wrote:

Please help us and the Phoenix Parks & Rec. team do our part, if you see broken ornaments, candy cane wrappers, or other trash of any sort on the mountain, please pick it up so we can all enjoy this tradition for years to come. Remember to bring a non-fragile (ABSOLUTELY NO GLASS) ornament and extra water to feed the tree..!! The mission is always to leave the world better than the way we found it!!

And yes, Dembow noted, Camelback Santa will be making weekend appearances at the tree site, starting this weekend.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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